Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for numerous reasons. First, it can have a huge impact on the quality of a person's life. People who are healthy tend to be happier, and more successful in day-to-day endeavors. Furthermore, as the life span of individuals continues to grow, leading a healthy life increases the odds that the later years of life are enjoyable. Second, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can have an impact on the costs of health care. Individuals who are healthy tend to require less medication, less treatment for ailments, less hospital time, etc.
Unfortunately, there are many existing factors that encourage individuals to lead an unhealthy lifestyle. The increasing convenience of many technologies has caused people to be more sedentary than ever before. Teens and adults in particular are spending more and more time in front of televisions and computers and less and less time partaking in healthy activities such as physical exercise. In particular, many individuals are choosing to spend their time playing video games that do not require much physical movement rather than getting involved in sports or games that require the exertion of significant physical energy. While some video gaming systems have created fitness programs, these fitness programs do not typically incorporate a game. Furthermore, because most video gaming systems are connected to a television or incorporated into a computer (desktop or laptop) the amount of physical activity that can be performed while playing the game is limited.
There is a need in the art for a game that incorporates walking, jogging, running, or other physical activity. In an example embodiment, the game is played on a mobile device (such as a cell phone) where the mobile device comprises an accelerometer based pedometer that records the player's step count. The mobile device may record a step count according to the player's selection of a location for holding the device such as pocket, bag, hand, arm, or belt. The accuracy of step count may vary depending on where the player holds the device while walking. In some embodiments, a screen of the mobile device is used to display a virtual avatar. The virtual avatar may be selected by the game player. Within the game, there may be a map with multiple nodes where the avatar moves from one node on the map to another according to the step count of the player. In an example embodiment, the avatar's speed of travel is determined by the player's step count. Thus, in order to move the avatar through the game on the mobile device, a player takes numerous steps that in turn contribute to improving the player's health.
In an example embodiment, a game of the present invention implements a pedometer to measure the number of steps taken by the game's player and utilizes the measurement to progress the player through the game. There are a variety of ways the physical activity measurement can be utilized to progress a player through the game. For example, a game could comprise a map and the number of steps measured by the pedometer could determine how quickly the player moves from one point on the map to another. In another embodiment, a player takes a certain number of steps to progress from a current position in the game to another position (such as from one node on a map to the next). Some embodiments may utilize a measurement of the player's physical activity to award points to the player in the game. In an example embodiment, a game comprises a certain number of segments and a mobile device being utilized to play the game records a predefined level of physical activity by the player in order to move from one segment to the next. For example, a game may comprise seven “game years” or 2,555 “game days” where each “game day” expires upon the player having taken 500 steps. In this embodiment, completion of the game requires the player to take 1.27 million steps. In embodiments comprising an avatar, a measurement of physical activity may be utilized to buy accessories for the avatar that can be utilized by the avatar in game play.
In some embodiments of the game, an objective is to manage a growing gold rush business and build the biggest fortune possible. In these embodiments, the game comprises a map of a gold rush state, such as the State of California, where the map has various towns, cities, and claims. By leaving miners at various claims, gold can be mined and then taken to banks for safe-keeping. During game play, the player may encounter special characters and items that assist the player in accomplishing game objectives. A game may additionally comprise virtual villains that interfere with or attempt to impede a player's game progress. In example embodiments where mining for gold is a game objective, a player utilized a cellular phone comprising a pedometer that measures the number of steps taken by the player. In example embodiments, the screen of the cell phone is utilized to generate a screen display and the game is thus played through the mobile device. The measurement of physical activity is utilized to progress the player through the game by progressing the player through “game days,” by permitting the player to travel from a current location to another location on a map of the game, by earning rewards points for the player that may be utilized in game play, etc. There are many ways the physical activity of a player can be utilized to progress a player through a game.